IMOA
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China’s New Giant Oil Platform Can Reignite Confrontations With Vietnam
China has a new offshore oil exploration platform called the Haiyang Shiyou 982 sitting in the South China Sea that is raising concerns about another confrontation with Vietnam. In 2012, China put the new rig’s smaller predecessor, the Haiyang Shiyou 981, into operation but moved it in 2014 when Vietnam claimed it violated its territorial rights. The root of…
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International Law is Failing the South China Sea
When Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing on August 29, expectations were high that progress would be made on the South China Sea territorial dispute. After all, under mounting domestic pressure, Duterte had promised—for the first time—that he would bring up the 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling during his meeting with Xi. The 2016…
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Revealed: How China’s military overpowers the US amid South China sea disputes
CHINA flexed its military might on Tuesday, unveiling a series of highly sophisticated and deadly weapons on the streets of Beijing. A reported 15,000 soldiers marched while The Ministry of National Defence claimed that 59 different elements of the armed forces would be present, on top of the 580 pieces of military equipment rolling through the streets and 160…
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Duterte still waiting for China’s ballyhooed bonanza
As Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte passes the midway point of his six-year term, questions are rising fast and furious about whether his government will deliver the Chinese aid and investment-led economic boom it has promised. While not a single China-backed infrastructure project has broken ground under Duterte, the Philippines’ traditional and more discreet partner Japan has continued to support…
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Despite maritime conflict, Duterte still trusts China
President Duterte still trusts China despite the lingering maritime conflict in the South China Sea, Malacañang said Monday. “The President still trusts them,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo during a Palace press briefing. Panelo, however, said they would ask the Department of National Defense (DND) to verify the reported increased presence of Chinese ships near territories in the West Philippine…
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China at 70: Richer and stronger
THE past 70 years witnessed the development of the Chinese nation from standing up to becoming richer and stronger. China has grown into the world’s second largest economy, the largest manufacturing country, the largest trader of goods and its aggregate economic output has exceeded RMB 90 trillion (approximately $13.6 trillion). China’s per capita GDP reached around $10,000. China stands…
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South China Sea crisis: Why Hong Kong protests could damage Xi’s military ambitions
CHINA is struggling to grab a hold of the situation in Hong Kong as protests overshadow the 70th China Anniversary celebrations on Tuesday in Beijing, and the unrest could have a negative effect on Xi Jinping’s military ambitions. The People’s Liberation Army of China is set to show off 15,000 soldiers tomorrow in the country’s biggest ever military parade as…
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Foreign Affairs told of Chinese ships near disputed South China Sea shoal
THE PHILIPPINE military has reported the unannounced entry of Chinese vessels near Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea to the Foreign Affairs department for appropriate diplomatic action, its newly appointed chief said yesterday. “The mere presence there if there is no request for passage prior to that will have to be reported,” Armed Forces Chief of Staff…
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Beijing Preps 10-Story Oil Drilling Platform for South China Sea despite Wary Vietnam
Vientnamese protesters chant anti-China slogans in Hanoi, Vietnam Thursday, June 19, 2014. TAIPEI, TAIWAN – China has developed a giant new offshore oil exploration platform for possible use in disputed tracts of sea, a move that would anger Vietnam and extend years of energy-related disputes between the two Asian neighbors. The platform dubbed Haiyang Shiyou 982 sits over the…
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DTI official: China now ‘largest trading partner’
NANNING, China — Despite an ongoing maritime dispute, China has become the biggest source of foreign investments in the country in just two years. Philippine officials attending the China-Asean investment summit last week said China had invested in 19 of 75 cluster projects under the Duterte administration’s P160-billion “Build, Build, Build” program. Cagayan Economic Zone Authority administrator Raul Lambino…